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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24413971">all the lights are out for me and you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/symphe/pseuds/symphe'>symphe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters: Sword &amp; Shield | Pokemon Sword &amp; Shield Versions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Relationship(s), Slow Burn, it eventually becomes... mutual</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:53:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,443</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24413971</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/symphe/pseuds/symphe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leon wants to say he doesn’t deserve this. He still has his flaws, it’s not as though they will simply disappear overnight and he’ll wake up a better person, but…</p>
<p><i>In time,</i> he reminds himself. <i>Mum, Sonia… even Hop, they’ve all told me the same thing.</i></p>
<p>Raihan sighs in his sleep and it draws Leon away from his thoughts. It is close to five in the morning now. </p>
<p>He can think about all of this later.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan, Hop/Yuuri | Gloria</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>based quite loosely around <a href="https://youareshauni.tumblr.com/post/611069877913075712/inspired-by-a-raileon-dynamic-ive-found-and-find">this</a> hc made by tumblr user youareshauni. thanks again for letting me write this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leon doesn’t think he will ever grow tired of hearing the roar of the crowd within the stadium. </p>
<p>It was nerve-wracking, at first, when he was starting out during his very own League Challenge. He used to joke with Hop that the shrill cries of fans would surely make him go deaf someday.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> ‘It’s time for Champion Leon’s exhibition match!’ </em>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>The Chairman’s voice booms aloud and fireworks shoot off into the air. This is always Leon’s <em> least </em> favorite part of the whole introduction. </p>
<p>More fireworks pop off on the pitch and stop right at the middle of the field, filling it with a light smoke that reveals Leon’s figure the moment it begins to dissipate. </p>
<p>He takes a moment to compose himself, fumes filling his lungs with each intake of breath. He tests his cleats against the grass and shakes his head before finally settling his gaze across the open field.</p>
<p>Charizard is right behind him, flexing its wings with a loud cry right as Leon strikes his signature pose.</p>
<p>The cheers are ear-piercing, perhaps even louder than his own Pokémon’s roars—it sets his heart racing, every single time. </p>
<p>To see everyone calling out his name, copying his pose—yes, this is who he <em> is</em>—Galar’s beloved Champion.</p>
<p>And it goes without saying, that a Champion such as himself should only have the greatest rival.</p>
<p>Raihan is standing across the pitch from him, posture relaxed as he rolls his neck side to side. He shares a quick glance with Duraludon, who’s standing right beside him, before he focuses his gaze back on Leon.</p>
<p>Something shifts between them during that moment. Leon isn’t quite sure what or how, but he feels a jolt run down his spine when Raihan speaks.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> ‘Exhibition or not, Leon, your pristine record is about to end—when I beat you here today!’ </em>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>Leon has to resist the urge to break into a big smile. It’s a little uncharacteristic of himself to feel so giddy at the prospect of battling Raihan today. </p>
<p>He tosses his arm back and his cloak is sent rippling with it. </p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> ‘You know I don’t lose battles, Raihan!’ </em>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>He clenches his fist and swings his other arm towards Charizard, eyes never leaving Raihan’s piercing gaze, not once. </p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> ‘Charizard! Dynamax!’ </em>
</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>Dark purple energy begins to swirl around Charizard while it grows thrice its original size, letting out a shrill roar from its maw. Bright flames erupted from its body in place of its regular wings, and it was quite the sight to behold.</p>
<p>And the rest is history.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Guess I lose again, huh?” Raihan extends a hand out for Leon to take. “I almost had you there, though.”</p>
<p>Leon’s smile is practiced, knowing there are cameras and flashing lights around them still. “Almost, but not quite!” </p>
<p>He takes Raihan’s hand and gives it a firm shake before turning to face the onslaught of paparazzi heading their way. He doesn’t miss the way Raihan waves him off, casual and uncaring in the slightest. </p>
<p>Leon can’t help but let his gaze linger on the Dragon Tamer’s form while he retreats. Something doesn’t feel right, but there’s no time for Leon to dwell on the matter—reporters are already bombarding him with endless questions about their battle. </p>
<p>He answers all of them politely, even going as far as taking a few snapshots for a local newspaper. </p>
<p>By the time that’s all said and done, he’s quietly trying to escape from any more questioning and overexcited fans. </p>
<p>“Rotom, is my schedule still open for the rest of the day?” Leon keeps walking down the corridor until he reaches the locker room. </p>
<p><em> “Only until 4:30PM, Leon!”  </em>Rotom answers him in a chipper tone.</p>
<p><em> So… I have three hours left, </em> he sighs. “Alright, thank you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His mum always gives the best hugs. Leon isn’t entirely certain if it’s something that happens when you become a parent or not, but he enjoys it either way. </p>
<p>“So good to see you, sweetheart,” his mum presses a kiss to his cheek that Leon of course, bends down a bit for. “I thought you said you were going to be busy? Did something happen?”</p>
<p>“No, no,” he smiles warmly at her. “Just wanted to stop by for a quick visit, s’all.”</p>
<p>She ushers him inside and into the kitchen, pulling out a chair for him. Cabinets open and close and the next thing Leon knows his mum is making him a hot cup of tea <em> and </em> lunch. </p>
<p>“<em>Mum</em>, you really don’t have to go to all this trouble…” Leon tries to tell her. “I’m only here for a short visit.”</p>
<p>“Nonsense,” she smiles at him. “It’s not everyday I get to see you.”</p>
<p>Well, he can’t argue with her there, and she <em> did </em> go to the trouble of making him a rather delicious looking sandwich.</p>
<p>He says his thanks and begins to eat his meal, casually talking about this and that with his mother. It isn’t too long after that Leon finds he needs to be getting ready to head back to Wyndon.</p>
<p>“Next time you visit, you ought to stop by the lab and say hello to Sonia,” his mum reminds him. “She misses you, you know.”</p>
<p>Leon feels a small twinge of guilt. “I know… I haven’t seen the Professor in a while, too.”</p>
<p>She walks with Leon out their door to see him off. </p>
<p>“All the more reason to go say hello,” she pulls him in for one last hug. “You work too much—even Champions need to take a break every now and then.”</p>
<p>She’s right—she always is, ever since Leon was a child, and yet… he can’t bring himself to say otherwise, despite knowing that’s how he feels.<br/>
<br/>
He returns her embrace and gives her a fond smile. “Right,” he nods sheepishly. “I’ll do my best, Mum. Be seeing you!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Wedgehurst station is awfully quiet today, but what few citizens that are waiting for the next train to come definitely do recognize their current reigning Champion. </p>
<p>Leon supposes that should be a given, but sometimes he still doesn’t feel quite used to all the attention he receives.</p>
<p>Two young fans are currently blathering away about battle strategies and the like—Leon is half paying attention to them, mostly smiling and nodding along—when the oncoming train whistle sounds off, alerting him that his ride is here. </p>
<p>He politely waves off the fans, who eagerly tell him that the next time he sees him, they’ll want to challenge him—Leon can’t help but feel amused.</p>
<p>“I’ll be looking forward to it! We’ll have to show everyone a real <em>champion time!</em>”</p>
<p>“You never get tired of using that silly catchphrase, do you?”</p>
<p>Leon swivels around at hearing an all too familiar voice from behind him.</p>
<p>“Sonia! What’re you doing here?”</p>
<p>She crosses her arms and sighs. “I think that should be <em> my </em> line, but if you must know, I was running an errand for Gran,” she pauses for a second, giving him a once-over. “What are you doing down here? Don’t tell me you’re lost?”</p>
<p>Leon laughs at that, and for the first time in a while, it feels genuine. “I was visiting my mum, I’ll have you know. I gotta get back to Wyndon, however… we should catch up sometime.”</p>
<p>He’s not entirely sure why he says it, whether it’s due to his mother’s insistence or some small, small part of him that <em> does </em> miss having friends, he can’t really say.</p>
<p>But what Leon <em> can </em> say is the reserved smile he receives from Sonia does a great number on his mood. He can’t remember the last time he’s felt so… comfortable, even if the moment is fleeting. </p>
<p>“I would like that,” Sonia tells him sincerely. “I’m sure Gran would love to see you, too.”</p>
<p>The train whistle sounds off and startles both of them. Leon glances down the station to see last minute passengers getting on board.</p>
<p>“Guess I should be going, then,” Leon says. “Tell Gran I send my regards.”</p>
<p>“You know she’s just going to call you herself,” Sonia sighs and shakes her head. “But I will.”</p>
<p>She takes a step forward and pulls him into a quick hug. Leon is bit taken aback, but he returns the gesture.</p>
<p>“You always give such comforting embraces,” Sonia says after a moment. She lets go of him and gives him a small smile. “Please remember to take care of yourself, Leon.”</p>
<p>Leon smiles back at her. “Well, I did learn from the best.” He starts to head towards the small group of people still boarding the train, waving one last time back at Sonia before he enters the passenger car.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Two unread messages from Oleana, and four missed calls from… of course, Oleana,” Leon sighs and thumps his head back against the cushion of his seat. “Never ending with her, I swear.”</p>
<p>He scrolls through his messages, marking certain ones as ‘read’ and the others ‘important.’ He can check them later once he gets back to his apartment. </p>
<p>There are a few voices outside of his compartment on the train, sounding equally nervous and in awe, and it draws Leon’s attention away from his Rotom Phone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> ‘Oh, oh, look at that! Are those Pokémon?’ </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> ‘Yes! Those are Flygon!’ </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leon blinks and turns his head to look out the window—he breaks into a huge grin.</p>
<p>There is a small group of what looks like five Flygon, all soaring high up among the clouds in the sky. Two of them begin to chase one another while the other three zoom around happily.</p>
<p><em> Gauging by the direction they’re heading… they must be going to Hammerlocke. </em>Leon rests his cheek on the cool glass of the window pane and closes his eyes. <em>I wonder if they're Raihan's?</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s roughly 5PM when Leon steps off the train and is hit with the chilly breeze of the evening air. </p>
<p>The walk to Rose Tower is a bit of a long one, but he’s never minded it—it gives him a chance to say hello to the citizens and keep up his public persona, which is what the Chairman wants, after all. </p>
<p>By the time Leon reaches the tower, it’s a quarter past five. A few Macros Cosmos employees greet him the second he steps inside the tower. </p>
<p>“The Chairman will be waiting for you on the top floor, Leon,” one of them says. Leon nods his thanks while he heads towards the lift. </p>
<p><em> Up the lift. Three doors to the left. </em>Leon presses the open button and waits. </p>
<p>To his surprise, there is no one else inside once the metal doors slide open. He still unfortunately remembers the last time he had to force small talk. </p>
<p>Leon steps inside and presses the close button. There’s a strange little speaker in the corner of the small platform emitting a soft tune.</p>
<p>Truthfully, Leon can’t stand it. </p>
<p>He gently rests his head against the back wall of the lift and sighs. <em> This day can’t end soon enough</em>. </p>
<p>The lift makes a buzzing noise and stops on a few floors short of the top floor. Leon prepares himself to be social—<em>just a few floors, just a few floors, just a few— </em></p>
<p>“Well hey, Champ!” </p>
<p>Leon blinks, a small gasp of surprise leaving him. “Raihan? What are you doing here?” </p>
<p>The Dragon-type Gym Leader ducks his head a bit when he steps into the lift. “Probably the same reason you’re here.” </p>
<p>“Huh, I don’t… actually know why I’m here,” Leon admits. “The Chairman wanted to see me, though.”</p>
<p>Raihan laughs. “Sounds about right. I got called over for a chat about the upcoming Championship—’m sure you did, too.”</p>
<p>Leon hums, but doesn’t say anything else. He <em> wants </em> to, of course, but when he steals a glance over at Raihan he finds the Gym Leader on his Rotom Phone. </p>
<p>They stand together in silence for the remainder of the ride in the lift. </p>
<p>It reaches the top floor within minutes and the metal doors slide open with a beep. Oleana is the first person they see waiting, looking <em>delighted </em>as ever to greet them.</p>
<p>“Leon, the Chairman is waiting for you down the hall,” she says in a neutral tone. “Raihan, if you’ll come with me, please.”</p>
<p>“Yes, ma’am,” Raihan gives her a nod as he steps off the lift. He waves his goodbye to Leon and walks away.</p>
<p><em> Three doors to the left. </em> Leon leaves the lift and heads down the hallway.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Rotom, what time is it now?” Leon stretches after he exits the glass-paneled room. It must be getting late, with how dark the entirety of Wyndon had become.</p>
<p>
  <em> “8PM, Leon!” </em>
</p>
<p>Leon sighs a bit dramatically. That meeting took well over two hours and even then, Leon had to excuse himself out of the awkward conversation—he had had enough for one day.</p>
<p>“A crisis that won’t take place for at least 1,000 years. It sounds so absurd, and yet Rose… he really thinks…”</p>
<p>Voices echo down the corridor and it stops Leon right in his tracks. <em> I hope no one heard me. </em></p>
<p>Nessa comes into view, walking together with Raihan, chatting away about things Leon can’t quite make out. They’re both heading towards the lift when Nessa notices him standing there.</p>
<p>“Leon?”</p>
<p>Raihan turns his head. “You’re still here, mate?”</p>
<p>“Ah, hey!” Leon jogs over towards them. “Had a bit of a long meeting, s’all, discussing the Championship Match and whatnot.”</p>
<p>Nessa glances between him and Raihan and shakes her head, clearly amused. “I can already envision you two in your upcoming battle.”</p>
<p>“Are you including my future victory in that prediction?” Raihan nudges her with his arm, smiling. </p>
<p>“Oh please, don’t even start,” she steps around him and gets into the small compartment, holding the door open with her hand. “Just for that, I’m predicting you’re going to lose.”</p>
<p>“Ness, you wound me,” Raihan feigns hurt. “I’m definitely winning this year.” He lowers his head as he steps inside the lift. “You goin’ to the first floor, Leon?”</p>
<p>Leon regards both of them quietly for a moment. “Uh, actually I just remembered I forgot to tell the Chairman something. I’ll catch ya later!”</p>
<p>Nessa lets go of the door and it slides closed, but not before Raihan shouts out a quick ‘cheers!’ to Leon, who lets out a small breath of relief the moment they are gone.</p>
<p>Maybe one of these days he wouldn’t feel so awkward at the prospect of having friends. He <em> does </em> have friends, although some people may not look at his Charizard and assume it knows his deepest secrets.</p>
<p>But maybe someday. Leon can only keep trying until then.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>can't guarantee how quickly i'll post updates.. but i do have 1/3 of it already written, so we'll see. thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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